A Continuing Project

I have a box of 8.5" squares cut from fabric that I'm not particularly attached to. Mereth and I call these Expendable fabrics; nice enough, but we don't care if we use them all up, either in quilts or to test out ideas. We're not going to mourn using the last scrap of them. The box is leftover from a Scrappy Mountain Majesties quilt that I made in February 2016, and I thought I would just make a backing out of the squares and be done with it.  But I sold that first quilt, and now I'm thinking I'd like to make another one, so I'm working on those blocks.

I love it because there are several stages involved, and each of those stages involves a different level of difficulty. There are times when I really need an easy task to perform, something that I don't have to pay attention to. My vision is worsening as my cataract develops, so triangles aren't my friend anymore.  I tend to do a lot more trimming down of things now, instead of relying on my judgement while sewing.  But I'm just adapting to that as best I can, knowing that cataract surgery is getting closer.

To make the big HST I draw a diagonal line on the light squares.  In Bonnie's pattern she cuts them into triangles, but I sew either side of the drawn line so I don't have to handle long bias edges. It's an easy task to sit down and draw all those lines, when I feel sort of lazy and don't want to stand at the cutting table.

Then I pair the light squares with dark squares. Again, it's a nice lazy thing to do, sitting down when I feel weary. I pin them together and stack them next to the sewing machine, ready for when I feel like sewing them. Because they will be trimmed to size later I don't feel any great need to be super accurate at this stage.

Cutting them apart and pressing them is another mindless job, which requires no great attention. Trimming them to an accurate 8" square is a job I save until I'm ready to concentrate on what I'm doing and I'm not too tired to see the markings on the ruler.

Then I layer the two pairs as in the pattern, and cut them apart. Again, I do this when I'm feeling alert and ready to concentrate. Don't want to ruin it at this late stage.

There are pieces for 15 pairs in this tray, making 30 blocks.

My last trip to Adelaide was a long one, I was desperate to get back to my sewing machine. Even though it was late, I immediately sat down and sent this lot through the machine; it felt wonderful! I had to leave pressing them till the next day, because it was very late by that time. But early the next day I had a pile of blocks to add to the box.

I love this block because it looks so fantastic in the finished quilt, don't think I've ever seen a bad one. I love all the different steps, which I can tackle whenever I'm in the mood. I love that it makes some pretty bleh fabric look great, and that it's so easy to put together.

So I've decided that I will always have a box of 8.5" squares ready to turn into these blocks.